


Patton's Little War

by Little_Spirit199



Series: Sanders Sides: Mind Palace [3]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Civil War, Gen, Morality | Patton Sanders is a Good Friend, Morality | Patton Sanders-centric, One Shot, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:34:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27025123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Spirit199/pseuds/Little_Spirit199
Summary: In a time of Civil War, Patton Sanders is expected to take a side. Everyone thinks they know which side he should take, he even knows what side he should take, but how is he supposed to choose between his friends? It's impossible, and he isn't ready to make a decision.(Includes small amounts of violence and verbal abuse, but nothing too strong)
Series: Sanders Sides: Mind Palace [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1926265
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	Patton's Little War

"Patton, have you gone mad, you knave?! Are you really joining those lame rule followers??" Roman shouted. I cringed at the insult, surprised that he would even say something like that about our friends. And the fact that Remus agreed with him was even worse. Tears streamed down my face and I tried to tell myself that they didn't mean it.  
"I'm sorry," I mumbled, "But I just can't choose between you all. If it's alright, I'll be back by sunset." Of course passing time was unpredictable here, so that could be any minute. The Mind Palace had gone strange, ever since the dispute started. I couldn't tell why, but maybe Logan could tell me. If I could ever find him. 

I never even realized how big the Palace was until the dispute started. There were so many rooms and twisted hallways, it was impossible to find anything. I sighed and slumped to the ground, burying my head in my knees. I didn't know how much time passed, but after awhile, I heard quiet footsteps pattering down the hallway and glanced up, hoping it would be Remus or Roman coming to get me. I wasn't that lucky. Above me stood none other than Janus, the last person I expected to see wandering around the Mind Palace. He looked just as surprised to see me, on his side of the world anyway.  
"Hello," I said. My voice came out squeaky and unsure, exactly how I felt.  
"Patton..." He replied, an eyebrow raised. I wasn't supposed to be here, we both knew it. "What are you doing?" I could tell that he thought I was spying or something, but really I would never do that! I wanted nothing to do with this war. I could tell him so, but of course he wouldn't believe me.  
"I just wanted to see you," I insisted. "And Virgil and Logan. I missed you guys. I really, really don't want to fight anymore." I felt myself tearing up again. Why was I like this? I clenched my fists at my sides and tried to calm my shaky breaths. Janus stood there and said nothing until I relaxed a bit.  
"I definitely trust you, wholly and completely, Patton."  
"Wait, really! Oh, hold on- You shouldn't lie!" I said it mostly out of habit, although I knew it wouldn't change anything. He raised one eyebrow, as if to say, 'do you really believe that that will work on me, you fool?'  
He continued after seeing the look on my face. "I'm not the one in charge though. Come on, you're my prisoner of war until we decide what to do with you." He pulled me up by both wrists and started lightly pulling me in the direction he just arrived from. For such a strange and violent act, it all felt very casual and non threatening. I should have been freaking out, but I was oddly calm. I went looking for Logan, now I was being led directly to him. If you think about it, it was almost lucky. I'd never been a prisoner of war before, so I was looking forward to see just how it went.

After nearly half an hour of wandering through the hallways, (see, the Mind Palace was absolutely huge!) Janus finally found whatever he had been looking for and slipped through the door. I followed, curious. There were places that I had never even imagined before.  
The room was small and dark, only lit by a small lamp in the corner. Janus leaned against the wall without another word, and I noticed none other than Virgil lurking in the shadow.  
"I found him wandering our hallways," Janus grunted. Was Virgil the one in charge over here? That didn't seem right. He stepped forward and stared at me.  
"Hello, Patton. Long time no see." I hadn't realized it, but he was right. The dispute had been going on for weeks now, but like I said, time here is unpredictable. It felt like only a few hours.  
"Yes, it's been awhile. I was worried for you guys." Janus glared at me from under his bowler. Virgil looked slightly confused.  
"You're not mad at us? I guess you wouldn't be..." He trailed off, muttering to himself.  
"Well, anyway," I suddenly felt really awkward around them. It had been a really long, and we were supposed to be enemies now. "I'm sorry this happened. We shouldn't be fighting anymore. Where's Logan?" I still wanted to ask him about the Palace expanding, and the weird time distortion that was happening. There must have been something wrong with Thomas if all this crazy stuff was happening. I just wanted things to go back to normal and the people I cared about wouldn't fight each other anymore. 

I realized that I'd gotten lost in thought. I shook myself and turned back towards Virgil and Janus. "So where is he?" Virgil tightened up.  
"You don't know? He went to go talk to you and the twins hours ago. Ohhhh, this is bad! What could have happened?!" He started pacing around in as big circles as the smaller room would let him. Janus just stayed in the same place, leaning nonchalantly against the wall.  
"Wait, wait," I wanted to get one thing straight. "He was going to talk to us? Not fight us?" I thought I was the only one who was tired of fighting, although now I can see that that was a stupid assumption.  
"Well, yeah. Logan's not a fighter," Janus explained, while Virgil was anxiously muttering all the possible options. "He never wanted to do this in the first place. He thought that if he could just talk to you three, maybe you would see reason." My gut was sinking. I felt terrible! It was like we'd (we meaning Remus, Roman and I) It was like we'd pressured the other three into having this dumb war that nobody really wanted to have, and now Logan was paying for it. Where could he be? He couldn't have gotten lost, that would never happen, so something else must have happened to prevent him from coming back. I nodded, more to myself than anyone else and made a decision.  
"Everyone's tired of fighting each other, even the twins," I told them.  
"Really? This whole thing was their fault," Virgil said, rolling his eyes a bit. He'd finally calmed down enough to listen to what I was saying.  
"Yes, they don't want to do it anymore," I assured him with a quick squeeze on the shoulder. "They just want to keep up the act because they think you're still mad at them." Janus was standing silently behind Virgil, waiting for what I was going to say. "We need to go talk to Roman and Remus. Maybe the have Logan, or maybe he has them, but this has made me realize that we're all just being-" I hesitated, but only for a second. "B-holes." They both looked up at me, a little shocked. I was shocked at myself too. I never used such strong language. Well, too late to take it back now, I just have to power through. "We have to go find Logan." They nodded in agreement, and we all followed Virgil out the door.

After a while, I definitely opened up the the possibility that Logan did get lost in there. It took us forty five minutes just to find Roman and Remus, and the second they saw us their eyes simultaneously widened. But that only lasted a moment until Roman was holding a sword to Janus' throat and demanding, "Why are you here? We don't have time for talking to the likes of you!" Virgil, who was standing in the back of the group, whispered in my ear  
"Hey, are you sure he's tired of this whole war thing? I couldn't manage a response except a little shrug and stepping forward.  
"Roman, Remus, we're sorry. We've come to try and talk things out, alright? Also, where's Logan?"  
Remus shrugged and giggled. "How should we know where the dork went? You're the ones who lost him."  
"No, I'm right here." We all swiveled at the sound of his voice radiating from the back of the room. Had he followed us in here? No. Logan was sitting in a plush chair that had been shoved into a corner, wearing a new outfit that I had never seen before. Calf length cape, cross stitched chest piece and everything. He looked just like modern day Robin Hood. "Do you all realize that this whole thing is pointless? As much as I hate to say it, Patton is right."  
"Shut up for a second! How'd you get there?" Virgil exclaimed.  
"Well, Roman-" He put extra emphasis on the name "-told me to be more creative." He snapped his fingers and appeared in the other side of the room, near the balcony. "Teleportation boots," He explained, showing off the knee high riding boots. "It was quite bothersome having to walk around with the Palace constantly rewiring itself. Anyway, that's not important. Patton, explain what you've been thinking this whole time." He nodded at me with a small smile.

"Oh!" I was a little surprised that he was looking for me to solve this. "Well, I think we should stop fighting. I mean, left and right brains can work together, you know? If everyone just apologizes, we can start over, and help Thomas figure things out." I knew this wouldn't work. Why would one speech change everything? Even if nobody's heart was in it anymore. I sighed and said, "I'm willing to work with all of you, so who's with me?"  
"I am," Virgil admitted. "It's too nerve wracking being on everyone's bad side."  
"I as well." Logan nodded. Roman glanced between the two of them and bit his lip.  
"OK, we'll try and work something out," He finally relented. Janus looked up from where he was leaning against the wall (again).  
"Whatever. I mean, I could go on, but it doesn't really matter." It was an unspoken understanding between everyone that he was lying. I could hardly believe how well this was going. We all looked at Remus, who had pulled open another tube of deodorant. He took an enormous bite, and several of us cringed at the sight. He chewed, swallowed, and finally spoke. Way to build tension.

"That was a pretty speech, daddy, but I think you're talking out of your a$$."  
"Watch your language!" I startled backwards.  
"See, this is what I mean. You're holding us back! There are so many possibilities open to us that would improve our life for the better except for the fact that you won't let us take! Have a little ambition!"  
"Look, we don't want to go down a dark road. That's my job, Remus." I tried to sound calm and reassuring, but it came out more unsure and nervous. He looked at me skeptically. I continued trying to convince him that fighting wasn't the best option, but he wouldn't budge even an inch. Virgil put a hand on my shoulder and shook his head, sending a message. He didn't move is lips, but I knew just what he was trying to say.   
"Give it a rest. He'll cool down after awhile. We should just let him figure it out for himself." From the back of the room Janus nodded at me and Roman just looked on. As much as I wanted everyone on the same side, I knew Virgil was right. I turned back around to face Remus.  
"I'm sorry."   
"No, you-! Wait, what?" He asked, stunned by the apology.  
"Yes. I'm sorry we can't all get along and help Thomas with this decision. I hope you can at least consider everyone else's ideas. We're going to leave you alone now, okay? Just rest up a bit. Maybe we'll come up around here tomorrow and listen to what you think." I saw now that it was useless to expect everyone to accept me so quickly. I was lucky that everyone else was listening. 

Not everything will ever be perfect, but it's good enough. That's all I can ask for, I suppose.


End file.
